King of the Pirates, Savior of the World
by coffeelatte
Summary: The Strawhat boy, reporter Hiragi concludes, is many things – a rubber human, a supernova, a friend, a brother, a son – but he is not a pirate. The hysterical irony in his throne as the King of Pirates is stifling, because this boy is a savior, not a plundering pirate, and all he's ever done is offered his hand to anyone that needs it. Nakamaship. Oneshot.


**A/N:** I've never really written for the One Piece fandom, but I'm a huge fan of the series, and I recently watched my favorite episodes all over again, hehe. I just had a burst of inspiration for this random one shot, which can be taken as a light introspective piece on Luffy and his crew from the eyes of a news reporter, keke.

Please review and tell me how I did on my first venture into the OP fandom, yes?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own PoT.

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Strawhat Luffy possesses many monikers.

Monkey D. Luffy, Luffy, "Strawhat," pirate, Captain, Supernova, Rubber Human, _nakama_, friend, son, brother-and, most recently, _Pirate King._ He's only twenty two years old when he achieves the last title, but journalist Hiragi supposes she shouldn't be surprised, because this boy was only seven when he ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi (and who knew it'd be so powerful?), and at seventeen, declared war on the World Government.

Hiragi's been following this boy – who's old enough to be a man by now, but every picture she's ever seen has him smiling so wide, so bright, like a little boy – for a year now, ever since she'd been assigned to cover all Monkey D. Luffy stories for the _Sealine Gazette._ She's known about him since before that, of course, what with his declaring war and taking down infamous enemies – _a god, a Shichibukai, CP9, and more that shouldn't have been possible_ – but when she began to really _follow_ him, she discovered that something was very, very off about this supposed King of Pirates.

For all of his victories and all of his infamy and his _insane bounty_, Monkey D. Luffy is not a pirate. Nor is his crew, and it's strange, because Hiragi's realized this so easily after following his stories – it's strange, because this boy is more of a _savior_ than a _pirate_, and he's a boy who makes one question one's own moralities and blurs the ambiguous line between 'good' and 'evil.'

His crewmates are not pirates – they are all civilians, plucked from whatever life they'd led before the Strawhat Pirates, and slapped down into vague roles in Monkey D. Luffy's awe-inspiring team.

Roronoa Zoro's gone on record to say- _"If I left this ship, I wouldn't have a reason to be a pirate anymore._" Straight from the lips of the first mate, this line defines everything about everyone in the Strawhat crew-

The demonic pirate hunter- _who laughably becomes one of the strongest pirates of them all, for someone who used to make a living hunting them down_- Roronoa Zoro; the "cat burglar" Nami _whose moniker doesn't do her justice because her geographical and navigational skills are prodigy-level_; "Sniper King Sogeking," ergo Usopp, _who despite his position as one of the weaker members, has an aim second to none and a creativity bursting from his deadly weapons_; "Black Leg" Sanji, _a womanizing cook (though no one but the Strawhats have ever had the luxury to eat his supposedly divine creations) whose fighting abilities are enough to send enemies to their terror_; "Cotton Candy Lover" Chopper, _a reindeer that has remarkable combat abilities and doctoral skills inherited from the infamous Ageha_; "Devil Child" Nico Robin, _for whom the crew declared war on the entire world, the fearsome woman who gained a multi-million dollar bounty as a mere child_; the Cyborg Franky, _whose craftsmanship becomes known worldwide in the form of the iconic Thousand Sunny Go_; Humming "Soul King" Brook, _a man whose time has long since passed, and remains in the living world for one person only- his captain._

None of them have ever been pirates, and none of them had ever shown a likelihood to become one before meeting Luffy; even now, the term 'pirates' to define them is questionable. They are pirates _because_ they are a part of the Strawhat Crew, not the other way around, and it's quite possibly the first time Hiragi has ever seen a crew with motivations like this. And like everyone else Strawhat Luffy has encountered, these crew members had been saved by their Captain, who had pulled them from the dark despair and into a world where they were free to pursue their wildest, craziest dreams.

After all, their damned Captain had the wildest, craziest dream of them all.

Hiragi has seen first-hand their interactions once – just once. Shortly after receiving his title, he stunned them all by agreeing to an exclusive interview, something she'd requested just for the shits and giggles (again, he defies all expectations set for pirates, because none have ever sat down for an _interview_ before). On his stipulations (or more likely that of the clever navigator or protective first mate), the interview takes place on board the Thousand Sunny, and Hiragi was sent in alone.

She'd nearly passed out from the fright and nervousness, but five minutes in, and she'd been stunned in place at the inner workings of the ship of the Pirate King. The navigator slaps him across the head to _"sit the fuck down for this interview and don't you dare run away Luffy_;" the reindeer doctor clings to his lap adorably and he laughs this carefree _"Shi shi shi"_ that's incredibly disarming; the infamous Black Leg swoons as he serves Hiragi a cup of delicious tea, only to be _slammed on the skull_ by Roronoa Zoro's sword for his _"ero-cook dumbassery;"_ various other crewmates are in similar displays of chaos.

But there's never any tenseness, any fear or discomfort among the crew, and though he's the Captain, he hardly pulls rank at all. He doesn't have to intimidate any of them, and in fact, Hiragi would venture to say that the others scream and admonish him more than he ever does them, and this is all bewildering because the image that the world has of Monkey D. Luffy is the terrifying man who dominated the seas.

He's silly and a _boy child_, and Hiragi doesn't get any coherent quotes out of him for her article. What she does get is the preciously rare chance to observe first-hand this crew that's world-renowned, and she realizes that this entire crew _gravitates_ around Luffy without him even noticing. They roll their eyes at him, tease him, save him when he goes overboard, and at any given time, there are at least three pairs of eyes on him, forming- _an impenetrable barrier for their precious Captain._ They _adore_ him, Hiragi realizes, and this is all so much to take in-

The Strawhats circulate almost unconsciously around their Captain.

A Captain who really doesn't deserve the name "Pirate King," because for anyone whose personally met Luffy, all they have to offer are smiles and laughs and _love_ for this boy, and who has ever heard of a pirate who was _loved_ and not feared by all he meets?

There are his past foes, of course, all _past_, because the Strawhat crew has spectacularly defeated every adversary to cross their path. But Hiragi has found upon closer inspection that these fights were always to _save_; Strawhat Luffy challenged a God to save a civilization, faced the World Government to retrieve his _nakaama_, defeated a Shichibukai to salvage a kingdom, bled to save the Mermaids despite their hatred of humans-

Time and time again, the world focuses on his victories – his sheer, dumb-luck victories – when they really should have focused on the reason behind the combats instead.

Monkey D. Luffy has never plundered, has never ravaged, has never destroyed – he has overcome, he has defended, he has _saved._

And it's strange, because the World Government paints him as the devil incarnate, when he's saved countless and thousands and thousands of people that the government failed to protect.

The Strawhat boy, reporter Hiragi concludes, is many things – a rubber human, a supernova, a friend, a brother, a son – but he is not a pirate. The hysterical irony in his throne as the King of Pirates is stifling, because this boy is a savior, not a plundering pirate, and all he's ever done is offered his hand to anyone that needs it.


End file.
